Is it sufficient to use tissue only when cleaning oneself after defecating, or is it essential to use water?.
Praise be to Allaah.
After relieving oneself, it is obligatory to remove whatever
najaasah (impurity) there is in that place, whether it is removed with water
or something else, such as stones or paper or tissues, but using water is
best.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas
were asked: In Britain we use tissues and paper to clean ourselves in the
bathroom; is it obligatory to use water after using tissues, or not?
They replied:
Praise be to Allaah alone, and blessings and peace be upon
His Messenger and his family and companions.
It is permissible to use tissues and papers and the like to
clean oneself, and that is sufficient if it is done properly and the place
is cleaned, from front or back. But it is better if what is used for
cleaning is odd-numbered, and it should not be less than three wipes. It is
not essential to use water after that, but it is Sunnah. May Allaah send
blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad. End quote.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd
al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ghadyaan, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn
Qa’ood.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah
(5/125).
Shaykh Muhammad al-Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have
mercy on him) was asked: It is acceptable to use tissues to clean oneself
after defecating?
He replied:
Yes, it is sufficient to use tissues to clean oneself after
defecating, and there is nothing wrong with it, because the purpose of
cleaning oneself is to remove the impurity, whether it is done with tissues,
cloth, dust or stones. But it is not permissible for a person to clean
himself with things that are forbidden in sharee’ah, such as bones and dung,
because bones are the food of the jinn, if they are from animals that were
slaughtered properly; if they are from animals that were not slaughtered
properly, then they are naajis (impure), and that which is impure cannot
purify. As for dung, if it is naajis then it cannot purify, and if it is
taahir (pure), then it is food for the animals of the jinn, because when the
jinn came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
and believed in him, he gave them some food which will not stop until the
Day of Resurrection. He said to them: “For you is every bone on which the
name of Allaah is mentioned, and you will find it with plenty of meat on
it.” This is one of the matters of the unseen that we cannot see, but we are
obliged to believe in it. Similarly, dung is food for their animals. End
quote.
Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
(4/112).
And Allaah knows best.
